First: what counts as a lottery?
In UK law, a lottery has three ingredients: people pay to enter, prizes are awarded, and winners are decided wholly by chance. Raffles, sweepstakes, 100 clubs and 50/50 draws are all lotteries. Because lotteries are a form of regulated gambling, the Gambling Commission sets the rules — its guidance at gamblingcommission.gov.uk is the authority on what your specific draw needs, and it should be your first stop.
The main routes for a club or good cause
- Incidental lotteries — run at an event (a race night, a gala dinner), with results drawn at the event. No licence needed, but prize and deduction limits apply.
- Private society lotteries — for members of your club or society only. No licence needed within the rules.
- Small society lotteries — the classic club lottery route: registration with your local authority, with caps on ticket sales per draw and per year.
- Large society lotteries — above the small-society thresholds, a Gambling Commission licence is required.
- Free-entry prize draws and competitions — draws with a genuine free-entry route, or a real element of skill, sit outside lottery regulation when done correctly.
What running one manually involves
Traditional club lotteries mean printed tickets or stubs, cash collection at matchdays or by standing order, a physical draw, manually notifying winners, and keeping records for the local authority return. It works, but it's volunteer-hours-heavy — and it's the reason many club lotteries quietly stop after a season.
Running it digitally
Play Fund Win is a UK digital fundraising platform built for exactly this: 2,500+ organisations — clubs, schools, charities and good causes — have raised £1M+ running 50/50 draws, raffles, 100 clubs and prediction games online. Ticket sales, payments and winner selection are automated, supporters enter from a link in seconds, and there's nothing to pay up front — the platform fee is 5% + VAT, only when you raise, plus card processing at cost (1.5% + 20p), with a 0% platform fee for your first 12 months as a new host, and most organisations are live in around 10 minutes.
In a 50/50 matchday draw on Play Fund Win, the 5% + VAT platform fee and card processing at cost come off the top and the rest splits 50/50 between one winner and your club — the prize grows as more supporters enter, which is what makes it the highest-momentum format for matchday fundraising.
Start a draw with Play Fund WinQuick checklist before you launch
- Decide the format: one-off raffle, weekly/monthly lottery, matchday 50/50, or 100 club.
- Confirm the regulatory route your draw falls under (Gambling Commission guidance).
- Name the promoter and keep records of ticket sales and proceeds.
- Set the prize structure supporters will actually care about — 50/50 formats solve this automatically.
- Plan the promotion: matchday announcements, club socials, newsletter, WhatsApp groups.